Aerial: What’s Open, Closed at State Pen

The Oklahoma State Penitentiary traces back to 1908, when reformer Kate Barnard exposed brutal conditions in the Kansas Penitentiary, where Oklahoma inmates were being held. Within a few months the inmates were moved to McAlester, where they began helping build the prison, wrote Harjit Sandhu in his book History of Corrections in Oklahoma. Much of the prison was destroyed in a 1973 riot, but new units were built in the 1980s and 1990s. Now a large swath of the southern half of OSP is empty, as cell houses have been closed and the rodeo is inactive. A new administration building is planned.

1. Rodeo Arena: Built in the 1950s, arena hosted annual rodeo and drew 60,000-plus over four days in 1960s; event last held in 2009.

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